Towndowner Records says hello from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with traditional and original music, sound collage, poetry and spoken word.

Our artists include:

The Shakes - Mark Lane writes, sings lead, and plays guitar. Dan Easley accompanies with a variety of instruments and vocal stylings. Crystal Shrewsbury provides the foundation on upright bass. Hints of Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and The Flaming Lips.

The Kindly Ones are Dan Easley and Frédéric Dorée. Frédéric is an electronic musician orginially from Liege, Belgium. They've released two albums and a very long single, mostly via email, with semiannual face-to-face jams and mixing sessions. The Kindly Ones are currently working on their third full-length release.

Dan Easley - Dan writes and sings tunes and songs, engineers and produces, and plays guitars, mandolin, accordion, and saxophone (and almost plays a bunch more). He grew up with Nat King Cole, Motown, and Mozart; in his early teens focused on Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and The Pink Floyd; now counts among his influences The Skillet Lickers, Robert Wyatt, Louis Armstrong, Can, The Pentangle, Carl Stalling, and Thelonious Monk. Most of Dan's solo output is original, with (sometimes rather odd) arrangements of traditional folk songs thrown in here and there.

Easley and Deaton - improvised music and soundscapes along with original songs. Mike Deaton is a drummer and drumming instructor/facilitator who performs for and teaches thousands of people a year. Easley and Deaton released two tracks under the title Mother Moon — they can also be heard on Pogo Bonobo, and accompanying Chad Gusler on his album of stories, Torn Advertisements.

The Burnt Possum Poets are Dan Easley (song), Jeremy Frey (poetry) and Chad Gusler (stories). The three have been conspiring and performing together for since 2001, after meeting downtown at some cultural event. Dan sez: "We'd been meeting around a fire at Karl Shank's house when Karl mentioned a fox he'd seen dead on the road. It seemed ignominous at the time to let it rot away on the road for weeks, it being such a noble animal, so we went off with a pitchfork to collect it's body and throw it on the fire - a proper funeral pyre. Alas, when we went to where the fox was said to be, it was not there - but there was a possum nearby."

He adds: "Maybe it was the whiskey, or all that smoke from the fire clouding our senses, but once the possum's hair had singed off, the fat started running and it smelled pretty good. We took the conservative route and went to an all-night diner instead - but it was inspiring."

The Burnt Possum Poets appear on Pogo bonobo, and Chad has a record of stories backed with improvised music: Torn Advertisements. Their written and visual work can be found at burntpossum.com.

Please visit our website at towndowner.com.